The Downtowner by Barry Owens

9 Hundreds flock to Downtown and Old Town Square during vigil for George Tiller.

12 The night the lights went on. A look back at early Main Street and the “Great White Way.”

A flower grows in Old Town: A look at how the heavy works of the city’s sculpture ‘WalkAbout’ were installed.

THE DOWNTOWNER Vol. 1 No. 2

DELANO

• DOWNTOWN WICHITA • OLD TOWN

JUNE 2009

ENDANGERED SPECIES Michigan building cannot be saved, developer says, and will soon disappear. Page 4

BARRY OWENS

The Michigan building, spotted here between the trees, will be demolished to make way for a parking garage.

THE DOWNTOWNER ❚ JUNE 2009

LETTERS

THE DOWNTOWNER ❚ JUNE 2009

COME AND GET IT A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

e walk these streets like everyone else, scratching our heads and wondering how it got this way. Yes, there is development. Yes, the mayor and city seem serious about revitalization. Yes, those “Minnesota Guys” are going gangbusters. Yes, the arena looks almost ready to host the second coming of the Rolling Stones. Still, there is an empty feeling down here that is hard to shake. Take a stroll on a Sunday sometime, as we did one blazing afternoon last month. Get yourself a couple of blocks outside of Old Town in any direction and then look for the signs. For rent, for sale, for lease, forgotten. Where did everybody go? Why? How could this beautiful old storefront be bare? How is it possible to walk through the landmarked Board of Trade Center on a weekday and not see another living soul, to spend 20 minutes seated behind a desk in an empty conference room just to see if someone will come along to kick you out? No one will. Why are there statues of people on the sidewalk, but no real people? Are those memorials? Now, we know there are any number of legitimate answers to most of those questions, and those questions are probably best posed to sociologists, economics professors and the like. I’m not one of those. I’m a newspaper delivery boy who does a little writing on the side. I don’t have the answers. But I do have a bit of advice: don’t wait for the developers, the consultants, the master plans, the Visioneers, the anchor tenants, the parking garages, the grocery stores or the Rolling Stones. I’m not waiting until it is safe, I’m not waiting until someone else tells me it is OK to come back Downtown. I’m coming back now, and I’m bringing my newspapers with me. And on a good month, hopefully very soon, I’m moving the whole shebang into one of those old storefronts. I might even get two of them and knock out the wall. Again, I’m no expert, but I know this: if you want your Downtown back, then come and get it. Wait too long and it won’t be yours anymore.

SUBSCRIBE It’s a free paper and you can pick it up just about anywhere around here. But if you don’t get around here much, we’re happy to get it to you.

Call 689-8474 for details.

THE DOWNTOWNER DELANO

DOWNTOWN WICHITA

OLD TOWN

BARRY OWENS EDITOR

WRITE THE EDITOR:

We welcome your letters. No subject is out of bounds, so long as it is local. Letters should be limited to 300 words and may be edited for clarity and length. All letters must include the author’s name.

CALL: 689-8474 WRITE: 337 N. Holyoke, Wichita, KS, 67208 EMAIL: barryo@collegehillcommoner.com ADVERTISE: 689-8474, or jessica@collegehillcommoner.com CORRECTIONS & CLARIFICATIONS: An editing last month result-

ed in an incomplete article on the history of the Shirkmere Apartments. The final sentence was omitted. We regret the error, and in fact were sick about the whole thing all month long. You can find the complete story in this issue on page 11.

THE DOWNTOWNER VOLUME 1 ISSUE 2 JUNE 2009

PUBLISHER

J ESSICA F REY O WENS

EDITOR

B ARRY

OWENS

CONTRIBUTORS

K ATIE G ORDON , J OE S TUMPE

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR J ESSICA F REY O WENS

THE DOWNTOWNER

Published monthly by The Downtowner and The College Hill Commoner 337 N. Holyoke Wichita, K.S. 67208 316-689-8474 editor@collegehillcommoner.com www.collegehillcommoner.com

THE DOWNTOWNER ❚ JUNE 2009

The Michigan Building, built in 1909, has long sat empty. Developers recently had hoped to convert it to apartments, but damage from neglect is said to be too great. It is slated to be demolished this summer. It will be replaced with a parking garage to house the vehicles of condo owners expected to move into the building next door when it is renovated. PHOTOS: BARRY OWENS

Out with the Old The Michigan building never won protected status; now it will disappear from the Downtown skyline. BY BARRY OWENS The six-story Michigan building, long vacant, leaky and unloved, is coming down. The once grand building, now most noticeable for the plywood in the windows and over all decrepitude, will be demolished to make way for a parking garage. Downtown developers Michael Elzufon and Dave Lundberg, with Real Development, had hoped to save the building and convert it to apartments. When interior damage—rotten floors, a roof beyond repair—was revealed to be too great, the plan was then to at least save the terra cotta facade. But last month the developers won approval from the city to knock the whole thing down. Elzufon points to a recent inspection by engineering consultants and the

subsequent report which detailed “cost prohibitive” damage and stability issues (“tall slender buildings have large overturning moments on the lower level lateral system,” the report read in part. “Had we known years ago what we learned [in the report] I may not have gone through many of the motions that I did,” Elzufon told The Downtowner. “I am not in the position of wanting to see people falling three floors and dying. We unfortunately had to put it to sleep, so to speak.” Elzufon said the building would be demolished within a few months. “We are going to try and save and preserve any and every element of the building that different organizations show an interest in,” he said. “ A number of exterior features and elements

are going to be donated.” Some parts may end up in other Real Development projects. “The stairs are beautiful, they are historic, they are great,” he said. The building, at 206 E. Douglas, went up in 1909. It was built by Oscar Barnes, a druggist, and his son Maurice. The pair were early developers of Downtown. For many decades the building housed music stores, including the Martin & Adams Music Company, the Adams Bennett Music Company and the Bennett Music House. Its last long term tenant was Rector’s Books (old shelving units and racks are still visible through the dusty storefront panes) but the ground floor retail space has housed temporary tenants in more recent years. For more than a decade the building was listed as one of the top ten atrisk sites by the Wichita Preservation Office and the Historic Preservation Alliance of Wichita and Sedgwick County. The Alliance was formed in 1996, shortly after another vacant, leaky and unloved building, the Allis

Hotel, was demolished following long years of neglect. Three years ago the Michigan was nominated to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, but didn’t make the cut. Two years ago the city bought the building and the adjacent land and gave it to Real Development, with the expectation that taxes generated by the development of condos there, and in the building next door, Exchange Place, would generate enough taxes to pay off the city’s investment. The Michigan building has languished ever since. The other day, a pair of tourists snapping photos of statues on the sidewalks were directed to take a look at the buildings on the corner, one modern with a pink hued marble facade and the other one classic, but crumbling terra cotta. They were asked to guess which one was coming down to make room for a parking garage. “Oh,” a tourist from Nebraska, Patti Lofquist, replied when told the correct answer. “You have got to be kidding me.”

THE DOWNTOWNER ❚ JUNE 2009

A UNIQUE COLLECTIVE OF VENDORS & MERCHANDISE

The former Hillside Christian and First Southern Baptist church at Hillside and English. The church was recently purchased by Downtown business owners Grant and Janet Rine. The couple say they are unsure of their plans for the building. JOE STUMPE

A Little Place in the ‘Burbs Downtown business owners purchase historic church in College Hill ‘suburbs’ BY JOE STUMPE Grant Rine always told his wife he would own a pipe organ one day. Now he does—along with the historic church on the edge of College Hill that houses it. Grant and Janet Rine bought the former Hillside Christian and First Southern Baptist church at Hillside and English this spring. They’ve scrapped their original plan for the building and admit they don’t know exactly what they’re going to do with the 32,000-square-foot structure. But Janet says they haven’t experienced any buyer’s regret. “You know, we haven’t had one,” she said during a tour of the building. “We’ve always liked the unique. We’ve been drawn to that from the get-go.” The Rines, who live in College Hill, also own Caffe Moderne, which Janet runs, and Old Town Architectural Salvage, which is radiation oncologist Grant’s sideline. Most neighborhood residents recognize the church they bought by the towering columns and steep stairs that front the entrance along Hillside. What the Rines found inside was just as interesting, from exquisite stained glass to a huge puppet collection to the organ with pipes that take up two rooms in the rafters. The church was built in two stages. Members of Hillside Christian Church, part of the Disciples of Christ movement, built the sanctuary between 1923 and 1926 at a cost of $170,000, becoming one of the city’s first congregations to move from Downtown to what was then Wichita’s

“suburbs.” The adjoining education building was added in 1952. “The bones of (the sanctuary) are basically Greek classical,” Grant said, “but there are other styles used that are typical of early 20th Century architecture, including the arts and crafts movement.” The education building is styled in what Janet calls “mid-century modern,” including some touches that are “very Frank Lloyd Wright,” with a sub-basement fallout shelter. Hillside Christian sold the building in the late 1970s when the congregation moved further east to its current location at 8330 E. Douglas. The next tenant, First Southern Baptist, occupied the building until four years ago. However, most members had moved to Emmanuel Baptist on south Topeka by that time. The winnowing of the congregation is apparently responsible for the somewhat eerie scene the Rines found when they took over: a closet full of choir robes hanging just below name tags, hymnals and Bibles left open, a nursery full of toys. Not to mention 11 pianos, a puppet collection that was a key part of the church’s children’s ministry, racks of folding chairs, vintage audio-visual equipment and much more. “They looked like they had just been played with,” Janet said of the toys. “It’s like a bomb went off and they just disappeared.” Janet says the couple got a good deal on the building and initially planned to move their architectural salvage business there. But after hosting an open house there last month,

they decided the space—make that spaces—they’d acquired could be put to better use. The main sanctuary, for instance, has 752 seats in a banked theater setting. There’s a quaint smaller chapel, a large commercially equipped kitchen, a fellowship hall with a stage, and a floor broken up into a classrooms and a nursery. Janet thinks the fellowship hall could be used for music, theater and parties, with food and drink brought from the kitchen next door; the large sanctuary would lend itself to larger concerts. The chapel could be “really dolled up” for intimate weddings, she says. Her chef at Caffe Moderne wants to use the classroom space for a culinary school. The Rines have hired workers to clean up the property. They’ve already power washed the front stairs and cleared a piece of land behind the church that they’re offering to the neighborhood as a community garden. Janet would love to see neighbors pull up a chair, pour a glass of wine or lemonade and watch the tomatoes grow on a summer’s evening. Next up are repairs to the roof. A caretaker is moving in to keep an eye on progress. Neighbors are encouraged. “They’re restoring the beauty and aesthetics of it and I think that’s great,” said Dale Hancock, who attended the church. As for the organ, Grant Rine says, “There’s no question in my mind that the pipe organ will be hooked up by the end of the year.”

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THE DOWNTOWNER DELANO

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THE DOWNTOWNER ❚ JUNE 2009 Last month a loosely organized group of bicyclists, about 40 in all, set out from the Donut Whole during rush hour traffic Downtown to prove a point— cyclists have as much right to be on the road as cars. The ride was Downtown’s first experience with Critical Mass, a bicyclists’ rights movement.

KATIE GORDON

RIDERS ON THE STORM

CRITICAL MASS CYCLISTS BRAVE TORNADO, TORRENTIAL RAIN & DOWNTOWN TRAFFIC.

BY JOE STUMPE ornado sirens wail and lightning flashes as I wheel through Downtown with 30 bicyclists on a Friday afternoon. I’m wondering if our ride is going to turn stormy in another sense, too. The ride is to be Wichita’s first experience with Critical Mass, a bicyclists’ rights movement that started in San Francisco in 1992 and has spread around the globe. In some cities, Critical Mass rides have led to major traffic disruptions and the arrests of cyclists. As we gather in a parking lot of the Donut Whole on Douglas before the ride, I ask organizer Mark Pendergrass if he’s planning any civil disobedience. “I’m not going to,” he says. “If someone else wants to...” Most of the cyclists feel — like Pendergrass — that the city and its motorists range from indifferent to hostile in their treatment of two-wheelers. Marked bike lanes, buses equipped with bike lifts and other facilities are in short

supply. As for motorists, Pendergrass says he’s never been struck by one, but has gotten “pretty upset” over some close calls. Pendergrass had hoped for more participants but isn’t complaining, considering the weather. Most of those who do show up are younger (than me, at least) and male, although there are a few women and older folks. Among the more outspoken is Jesse Hermreck, a 29-year-old personal trainer at Genesis Health Club on Rock Road. He’s already commuted 60 miles on his bike to and from Andover this week. “We’re way behind the status quo in other cities” for cycling facilities, he says. Not overly diplomatic, Hermreck says a lot of Wichitans could benefit from biking. “There are a bunch of fatsos walking around. We need to get more activity into our life.” Most of the riders don’t know it, but a sympathetic city official is standing by as they gather. Newly-elected City Council member Janet Miller saw

a flier for the ride and came to show her support, if not her biking skills. “I'm pro-bicycling,” Miller says. “I think there’s a pent-up demand for bike facilities — lifts, paths, racks.” She notes that the city recently added new bike paths in the Riverside and Midtown areas. Still, the city “just can't go and put bike lanes in every street,” she says. Hoping to beat the expected rain, we head west on Douglas a few minutes before the scheduled 5:30 p.m. start. Our bikes are a mix of standard 10-speeds and customized jobs with long “chopped” handlebars and other features. A three-wheeler carries a boombox, providing the soundtrack for our trek. At first, I’m mostly concerned with the lightning, which is admittedly off in the distance; I don’t want to become Critical Mass’ first martyr. Am I safer riding in or out of the pack? Will hunching my shoulders make me a smaller target? But as my fellow riders shout and

wave to motorists — “Bikers rule, cars drool!” — I begin to enjoy myself. In response, there seems little to complain about. A large man in what looks like an Army uniform taps his horn and waves. A pretty blonde leaving the Anchor grins. I look back and note that we’re definitely slowing traffic in the lane behind us, but nobody is honking. As we stop by the Quik Trip at the intersection of Douglas and Washington, someone in our group yells “Get a bike!! No more gas!” to the people filling up. They stare back, but it’s noisy and I’m afraid they’ve missed out on this particular piece of advice. We continue down Douglas, then turn south on Broadway. At each stoplight, members of our group shout conflicting instructions: We should all go through the intersection together, red lights be damned. We should wait until we can all make it through the intersection safely. In this case, the stragglers make it through as the light is turning red. (CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE)

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THE DOWNTOWNER ❚ JUNE 2009

RIDERS ON THE STORM (CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6)

(CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE)

The staff of a new Mexican restaurant wave and smile. As we turn onto Waterman, I spot four cops in the parking lot of the McDonald’s. Is this where things turn ugly? Nah, they’re just shooting the breeze and don’t even appear to see us. But a man pulling out of the packed Century II parking lot (it’s the last weekend of Riverfest) clearly thinks we’re nuts. “There’s a tornado over there,” he says, pointing to the east. That’s a concern. I thought it was coming from the other direction. Then we’re across the Arkansas River and seemingly out of the range of any major traffic tie-up. On this day at least, Downtown appears to be short of critical masses of both cyclists and cars. We tool down Maple, past the Stadium bar and the real baseball stadium, then turn north onto Seneca. This takes us through Delano and across the river again. We pass the MidAmerican Indian Center, tennis center and spectacular Keeper of the Plains statue, then cross yet another stretch of river. Our trip is to end by the fountains in Riverside Park along Nims, but not before a little drama. As we approach the fountains, members of our group start riding tight, fast circles around the near-

by roundabout. Soon, about a dozen cars are backed up, unable to pass. And soon after that, two angry young men stride forward, telling the cyclists to “get the _ _ _ _ out of the way!” Finally, our group moves on, turning into Riverside Park. One rider splashes through the fountains, laughing. Back on Nims, the two angry motorists have left their car and (while peeling off their shirts) are challenging some of the cyclists to fight. Eventually, in the way these things sometimes work out, nobody throws the first punch, and everybody goes his own way. I’m not sure what the stunt at the roundabout proved. If I’d been behind us, I would have been ticked, too. Or as a friend at the bar will say later that night, “I’m all for bicyclists exercising their rights, just as long as they stay out of my way.” Back at Riverside, it starts to rain. Hard. I race home, arriving drenched and panting. So there is that advantage to a car. Still, as I peel off my clothes, I realize I haven’t felt like this since I was a kid. It feels good. Plans call for a Critical Mass ride through Wichita on the last Friday of every month. For more info, go to ICTcritical.com.

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THE DOWNTOWNER ❚ JUNE 2009

Last month in Delano, the cars were hot but the kids were cool during the annual Rumble in Delano. The car show and hot rod culture event included live rock ‘n’ roll, pin-up girls and a pompadour contest. At left “Hellbound Henry” performs. At far left, pin-ups hit the stage. Below left: Police estimate that about 6,500 people turned out for the event. Below: One sweet ride.

BARRY OWENS

MARCE BEELER

HOT TIMES IN DELANO

Rumble in Delano ushers in summer with gleaming chrome & sunshine. BY BARRY OWENS

If there was a moment last month when summer seemed to unofficially arrive on the steamy streets of Delano, it came about 5:17 pm on May 30. It was then and there, in the middle of Douglas Avenue, where hula girls in grass skirts were shaking their hips. Chrome gleamed up down the avenue from the hot rods parked at the curb, waves of heat shimmering from their cherry red hoods. In the middle of the street a

woman carrying snow cones picked up her pace so that they might not melt before she got across. It was Rumble in Delano, an annual car show and hot rod culture event in the neighborhood, and it was a scorcher. The pin-up girls carried parasols. It was the second year for the event, which was organized by Delano merchants Kelsey Metzinger, owner of Bungalow 26, and Cassie Hardenbrook,

TY NIGHSWONGER

owner of Bohemia Healing Spa & Apothecary. The event is a fund raiser for the neighborhood with proceeds generated from the sale of pin-up calendars to go toward the purchase of bicycle racks and other amenities. The calendars, which feature pin-up style shots of local women, remain for sale at Bungalow 26, 611 West Douglas. The event featured hot rod cars and trucks and vintage rock ‘n’ roll.

“This is the first car I ever bought,” said Bruce Long, who was buffing the chrome of his ‘57 Chevy. “I’ve had it since high school. It’s gotten older, and so have I.” About 6,500 people turned out for the “Rumble” and organizers were pleased with the crowds. “It was hot,” said Metzinger, “but despite the hot weather everyone still came and that was cool.”

THE DOWNTOWNER ❚ JUNE 2009

REMEMBER THE LO-FOS?

The media, mourners and activists gather in Old Town Square during a vigil for Dr. George Tiller, who was gunned down last month, allegedly by an anti-abortion extremist.

JOE STUMPE

Tiller Vigil Draws Hundreds to Downtown’s Old Town Square BY JOE STUMPE As the news of Dr. George Tiller’s slaying spread through Wichita, the usual reaction to such events—grief, anger, resignation— didn’t suffice for some residents. Instead, they came together. In Downtown’s Old Town Square, a crowd of 400 to 500 people gathered on a Sunday night, just 10 hours after Tiller was allegedly gunned down in church by an anti-abortion extremist. Some eulogized Tiller, whose clinic is one of the few that perform late-term abortions. Some vowed to continue the political and legal battle over abortion. Some wanted the nation to know, via the media, that Wichita is more diverse than the “conservative” label usually applied to it. “Thank you for giving us the choice,” one woman said of Tiller. “This is not us,” a young man said. “We’re better than this.” Jean Spurney had jumped in her car and driven over two hours from Belleville to attend the vigil. “I was sick through and through,” the retired nurse said of her reaction to Tiller’s murder. “We’ve been terrified for him for years.”

Indeed, Tiller had put Wichita squarely in the center of the debate over abortion for decades. Even at his vigil, a dozen anti-abortion protesters gathered across the street to carry signs and shout that he deserved to die. Perhaps with them in mind, Rabbi Moti Rieber prayed that Tiller’s opponents know “that God is not a god of hatred and violence, but is a god of love.” After the speakers, people at the vigil lit candles, held hands and sang. The vigil had been organized via a Twitter message sent out by 20year-old Dustin Deckard. It was, by most accounts, the biggest gathering of its kind that anyone could remember Downtown. Deckard said he picked the location because it offered both space and intimacy, and was accessible to people on foot. In a sense, the gathering seemed to inaugurate a new public space in the city. But that, of course, was secondary to outpouring of emotion for Tiller, who was to be laid to rest as this issue of the Downtowner was going to press.

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ARTS

The Rogue, by Dave Quick

Independence Day, by Dave Quick

works with strangers as subjects, juxtaposed with strange details. Independence Day, for example, combines two photographs taken during a recent July 4th celebration at the Keeper of the Plains. The top photo shows a young man, who Quick does not know but calls you’re in the show.” “Kurt Cobain” Was it art? Who because of the knows. But so it goes subject’s likeness with Quick, who snaps to the late grunge photos first and asks singer. “Cobain” is questions later. Often, wearing a t-shirt he’ll find another photo emblazoned with in his collection and the American flag. pair the two together to The photo posicomplete the work. tioned below that Once a purist known is a detail shot of for making handsome the American flag and painstaking prints plaque on the in his own darkroom, nearby Vietnam Quick became enthWar Memorial, ralled a few years back which is emblawith the Russian Lomo, zoned with the a spy camera. He wore Dave Quick juxtaposes photo prints. Pledge of Allegit out taking shots of the iance in print and in braille. people, places and things around him. Taken one by one, they seem unreHe now packs a Nikon digital camera, markable at first—the sort of photoslimmer than a pack of cigarettes. The graphs hastily snapped among dozens prints are made at Walgreens. of others during a vacation trip. But He shoots ordinary people he finds framed together they are suggestive of on porches or in parking lots and the something more—unabashed, blind city spaces in between. “Just us,” he patriotism, perhaps. calls his subjects. “At least half the Not that Quick necessarily had that people involved in this, I don’t know in mind at the time, or even now. who the hell they are. They are just “I think that part of the artist’s perpeople I’ve bumped into. In many sonality is that you don’t even know cases we’ve never had a conversation,” you are doing it,” he said. “It just haphe said. pens.” The show features a number of Another is The Rogue, in which

juxtapositions Sense & serendipity: the art of Dave Quick BY BARRY OWENS Last month, as the artist Dave Quick was preparing for the opening of his show “Keeping the Beat in These Tough Times,” a collection of photo combinations, he invited a visitor over to his comfortably cluttered Riverside home, where the works were framed and ready for packing in his living room and his two cats, Frankie Blue Eyes and Lucky roamed free among the stacks of Beat literature and art books. He was explaining how William Burroughs, whom he met during a photo project, had inspired his “cut up” method—the splicing of two or more works together to make a new work— and how serendipity plays a part in the selection, and sometimes in the taking of photographs. “I think that I am quite good at putting myself in a position of being open to and receptive of serendipity,” he was saying, when just then one of the cats, Lucky, nudged at the visitor’s elbow. “Look at that,” Quick laughed, and produced a digital camera seemingly out of nowhere and got the shot. “You came over to interview me and now Lucky is interviewing you,” he said. He looked at the photo in the view finder and seemed pleased. “Now

THE DOWNTOWNER ❚ JUNE 2009

we see a wolf-like dog descending into a drainage ditch near 21st Street and eyeing the viewer with a wariness. Framed below, is a detail of the graffiti that Quick was in the canal shooting at the time. “That little sucker came right over the hill, right at me,” Quick said. “I thought I was going to get bit.” Coupled with the gang graffiti, the anxiety in the piece is palpable. Some are harder to figure, like the photo of the boy holding a stuffed swordfish coupled with a photo of an old dance hall. “I’m not good at talking about them,” Quick says, and then sums it up nicely. It is about timeless grace, he explains. “If you took the sneakers away and the soccer shirt, and you just put old fashioned Keds on him, that kid could have been walking around with that same fish in 1952 or 1932. He was just having fun, carting it around. And I see life very much like this: if you are successful in life, your are a dancer. If you are moving through it with some sort of grace, then you are a dancer. I think that is the connection.” Quick’s show opened May 29 at Blank Page Gallery, 917 W. Douglas, and runs through this month. At the opening reception, Quick, always on the look out, moved through the gallery with a camera in his pocket.

THE DOWNTOWNER ❚ JUNE 2009

ARTS

Artist Greg Johnson, shown (at right) in photo at left, installs a flower sculpture last month in Old Town as part of the “Sculpture WalkAbout” project.

Untitled vessel #204-01, by Conrad Snider.

SPECIAL DELIVERY

PHOTOS: BARRY OWENS

In Bloom, by Abby Murray.

ON MOSLEY STREET IN OLD TOWN, A FLOWER IS PLANTED BY FORCE

BY BARRY OWENS The delivery was late, about an hour, and for the first 15 minutes or so the workers out on the street awaiting the package killed time with cups of coffee and small talk with the local UPS guy. “What are you guys putting up here?” the driver asked. “A flower,” said David Murano, who along with Kim Lister, both of City Arts, had prepared the base and were awaiting the 16-foot sculpture and its creator, artist Greg Johnson. The sculpture was the final of five installed last month as part of the “Sculpture WalkAbout,” a city funded public art project. The sculptures, installed along Mosley Street between Douglas and Second, will remain there for a year. New ones will be selected to replace them next year. Johnson’s sculpture is a 16-foot tall flower created out of parts salvaged from an Opal GT, and installed in front of the Old Town Banquet Hall. When the wind blows, it spins, appearing to turn its pedals to the

sun. “Oh, a flower” said the UPS guy. “I was hoping it was going to be a naked woman.” Finally, the flower arrived on a flat bed trailer. Johnson hopped out of the truck and started taking meas-

urements. “We’re going to need exactly 11 feet,” he explained to the driver, who then expertly wheeled the trailer into position. Johnson, who is owner of Greg Johnson Sculpture, a division of Auto Body Complex on nearby Kansas Street, and his crew then donned rubber gloves to prevent damage to the painted stem, and began to lift. “Here’s your Iwo Jima moment,” Lister said, as the men shouldered the flower into place like a flagpole. The entire installation took only minutes. Still, there was the matter of whether or not it would spin in the breeze. Johnson had built it on the floor of his shop, unmounted to the spindle. Johnson reached underneath the base of the flower with a wrench, then stepped back and instructed his crew to give it a whirl. It spun a slow, graceful 180degrees. “Look at that,” Johnson said, now standing well back to take in his sculpture in full against the backdrop of Old Town. “It works.”

Stainless Column, by Ed Pogue.

In the Face of Opposition, by Ted Krone.

HISTORY

THE DOWNTOWNER ❚ JUNE 2009

The Night the Lights Went On POSTCARD COURTESY OF JEFF ROTH

A souvenir postcard from 1907 shows Main Street, looking south toward Douglas, ablaze in electric lights—Wichita’s version of the “Great White Way.” The lights were turned on July 2, 1907. Thousands of people, according to press accounts, turned out to view the spectacle.

Downtown’s Main Street was the first in the city to glow with electric lights.

BY BARRY OWENS t is not difficult today to imagine a darkened Downtown Main Street. There is light, but not much life in the first few hundred blocks of the street after dusk. But there was a time when Main Street at Douglas was the heart of the city’s commercial district, and retailers and pedestrians went about their evening business in the gloom of the gas lamps. It is little wonder that so much fuss was made on July 2, 1907 when

a switch was thrown and electric lights illuminated a Wichita city street for the first time. “North Main Street Ablaze,” the headline read in the next morning’s edition of the Wichita Eagle. Many thousands of people, the paper reported, turned out to view the spectacle. A souvenir postcard was issued [shown above] heralding the strip as Wichita’s “Great White Way.” Merchants from South Main and around the corner on Douglas were reported to immediately inquire about

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similar installations. Furniture store owner George T. Nolley, and the druggist Harry Dockum are credited with bringing the lights to the 100 block of North Main. Of course, it was H. Almert with the local electric light company that sold them on the idea of better illuminating the sidewalk and their storefronts. So eager were the merchants for the new technology that the lights were strung hastily and turned on before the shades were installed.

“Some of the lights hang lower than others and a few are placed so as to give an effect similar to teeth out of a saw,” the Eagle reported. “The lights will be adjusted so as to bring them even and it is thought that the merchants can be persuaded to place the arcs equal distances apart instead of at present.” Still, the effect was apparently dazzling. “One could see to read a newspaper even while standing in the center of the street,” the Eagle noted.

HISTORY

THE DOWNTOWNER ❚ JUNE 2009

The roof garden atop the Shirkmere Apartment Hotel, as depicted in early promotional material.

The Old Hotel The view, then and now, of the Shirkmere Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the May issue of The Downtowner. Due to an editing error, the final sentence was cut off. We apologize for the error. The story is reprinted here, in its entirety. BY BARRY OWENS t was supposed to be the last word in residential hotel construction. And it was a beauty. But today, the Shirkmere Apartments seemed to have lost a bit of their appeal. While all around new lofts and apartments are going up, there remain vacancies at the old hotel. Built by Oscar Shirk at a cost of $1 million, the building housed 105 apartments, at least as many Murphy beds, a sprawling penthouse and garden atop the building and an elegant ballroom on the ground floor. Shirk, who also developed the Eaton and Topeka hotels, was so enamored with the place he took up residence in the penthouse. The building opened to much fanfare in April of 1924. It made all the papers. “It is doubtful if a very large number of Wichitans really know the grandeur and magnificence of the Shirkmere Apartments. No man or woman can realize what Wichita possesses in the way of a family hotel until they have gone through the new building,” the Eagle reported in preview of the opening. That description holds up even today. Downtown as a whole may be enjoying a rebirth as residents move into new lofts and old buildings freshly converted to residences, but the Shirkmere seems to stand alone. Unloved. Hardly heralded. Rented out cheap. That seems a shame as the building, though showing wear and tear, has held up well over the years. The ballroom still sparkles. The Murphy beds still swing out from the closets, the elevator still goes to the penthouse if you have a key. But it is clear that the old building, at Second and Topeka, is not the glam-

orous address that it once was. When it went up on the corner it was the finest, tallest, most luxurious residential hotel in the city. The structure was designed by architects Harry Weaver and John Eberson, who also are credited with the Orpheum theater and York Rite Masonic Temple, among other local treasures. The building was constructed of brick, granite, steel and terra cotta. It was no cheap facade. “All the materials in it are true to their natures. There is no make believe, no camouflage. Every piece of granite and every brick is doing a healthy day’s work by its resistance to the load it carries,” a critic raved in the Eagle. Inside, no convenience was spared. Each unit held an ice box, cooled by a central plant in the building. An incinerator, which can still be seen mounted on the back of the building today, eliminated the need for garbage cans. The Murphy beds eliminated the need for a bedroom, thus making more room to entertain. Aside from the ballroom, an elaborately decked out space said to be the “finest this side of Chicago,” the ground floor held separate lounges for men and woman and boasted a huge marble fireplace and draperies apparently so fine, an expert was invited to comment on the quality for a newspaper article. “There is a note of welcome in the hangings, a suggestion that seems to invite one to sit down and rest,” he offered. “The lobby proper is draped in beautiful gold mohair, a color which lends itself to balance with the beautiful tile floor, and balances with the color tone of the walls, while forming a background for the furniture.” Today, the ground floor lobby is carpeted. The lighting is dim. There is a Pepsi machine. The old clock on the wall doesn’t tick. But the woodwork is still fine. The ceiling is still high. The place has good bones and a shabby sort of grandeur, which as the critic once said, cannot be faked.

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THE DOWNTOWNER ❚ JUNE 2009

Rain Fest Photos by KATIE GORDON

Rain and a swollen river hampered some events during last month’s River Festival, but it didn’t dampen the spirits at the Block Party. As tornado sirens roared and thunder clapped, festival goers simply moved the party downstairs at Century II. Admiral Windwagon Smith, a veteran of stormy festivals, was prescient enough to pack a rain coat.

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LISTINGS

THE DOWNTOWNER ❚ JUNE 2009

■ EXHIBITIONS

6/26, 6-8pm: Mid-America All-Indian Center Grand Reopening A celebration of the museum’s reopening. Live drumming, traditional storytelling, and refreshments will be provided. Tours of the museum and facility will also be available. A special exhibit of works by young Native American artist, Taiomah Rutledge will also be on display. Free. Mid-America All-Indian Center, 650 N. Seneca, 3503340. g

6/26-6-21: Captured by the Light Photo paintings by Kathy Besthorn. Opening reception 6/26, 6-10pm. Murillo Studio, 119 N. Mead.

■ THEATER g

To 6/18, 6pm: Thoroughly Modern Mennonite Crooks infiltrate a Mennonite village. With dinner: $26 adults, $22 seniors, $20 children. Show only, $16. Mosley Street Melodrama, 234 N. Mosley. For reservations: 263-0222. g

To 6/13, 8pm: The Andrews Brothers Nostalgic tribute to the music of the World War II era. Performances Thu, Fri, Sat nights. $19. Cabaret Old Town, 412 1/2 E. Douglas. For tickets: 265-4400. g

6/10-6/14, 8pm: The Producers Scheming producer discovers he can make more money with a Broadway bomb than a hit. Century II Concert Hall. Music Theatre of Wichita production. For tickets: 2653107. g

6/24-6/28, 8pm: Camelot The story of the marriage of England's King Arthur to Guinevere is played out amid the pageantry of Camelot. Century II Concert Hall. Music Theatre of Wichita production. For tickets: 265-3107.

6/27-8/22, 8pm: Jukebox: One Hit Wonders A look back at the hits of the ‘60s and ‘70s. Performances Thu, Fri, Sat nights. $19. Cabaret Old Town, 412 1/2 E. Douglas. For tickets: 265-4400.

■ EXHIBITIONS Vanishing Point, works by Derek Miller, is on view through June 5 at Go Away Garage, 508 S. Commerce Street. Miller

■ TALKS, ETC.

uses toy cars, like Hot Wheels “but knock offs” to create his works. “I am using this symbol because it is one of those things that is globally recognized,” he said of the cars. “Someone from Timbuktu, or Mexico, or Los Angeles can read into it. Each culture is different and each person uses a car maybe in a different way, but they are going to have some familiarity with it,” he said.

6/16, 6pm: Celebrity & Chef Cookoff Cooking challenge between chefs and celebrities. Prizes, silent auction, live auction, and more. To be held at the Wichita Marriott Hotel. Tickets: $60. Orpheum, 200 N. Broadway, 263-0884, wichitaorpheum.com g 6/10, 17, 24, 7: 30pm: Blank Verse Open Mic Open mic for readings. Suggested donation: $3. Blank Page, 917 W. Douglas. g

6/27, 7pm: Evening on the Bayou Live music, Cajun food, live and silent auctions. Fundraiser for Communities in Schools. Tickets: $100. Order by phone: 973-5110. Farm & Art Market Plaza, 835 E. First.

■ CONCERTS g 6/8, 8pm: Bodo Big Band Guitarist Craig Owens and ensemble perform. Suggested donation: $2. Blank Page, 917 W. Douglas. g

6/9, 7:30pm: Cabaret 2009 an evening

of pop, jazz, show tunes, free appetizers. Fundraiser for Wichita Chamber Chorale. $25. Cabaret Old Town, 412 1/2 E. Douglas. For tickets: 267-2796 g 6/11, 5/25, 8pm: Chamber Music/Opera Series Suggested donation: $2. Blank Page, 917 W. Douglas. g

6/15-6/18, 3pm: Pipes on the Plains Organist Brett Valliant & the Wichita Wurlitzer in Exhibition Hall. Donations accepted at door. Century II Exhibition Hall.

6/11, 5/25, 8pm: Chamber Music/Opera Series Suggested donation: $2. Blank Page, 917 W. Douglas.

To 6/13, 8pm: The Andrews Brothers Nostalgic tribute to the music of the World War II era. Performances Thu-Sat nights. $19. Cabaret Old Town, 412 1/2 E. Douglas. For tickets: 265-4400.

6/28, 2pm: Soul of a People Celebration of WPA era writers. Followed by ice cream social. Free. Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum.

■ SCREENINGS g

6/8, after dark: The Dirty Dozen A US Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers in World War II. Free. The Vagabond, 614 W Douglas.

6/9, 7:30pm: Minnie & Moskowitz A museum curator falls in love with a crazy parking attendant. Directed by John Cassavetes. Blank Page, 917 W. Douglas.

6/11, 8pm: Terminator Cyborg travels back in time and goes on killing spree. Free. The Brickyard, 129 N. Rock Island.

g 6/11, after dark: Best in Show A colorful array of characters competes at a national dog show. Free. The Vagabond, 614 W Douglas. g 6/18, 7pm: The Muppet Movie Kermit is persuaded to pursue a career in Hollywood. $5. Orpheum, 200 N. Broadway, 263-0884, wichitaorpheum.com. g

6/19, 7:30pm: Easy Rider Hippies set off across America on their motorcycles. $5. Orpheum, 200 N. Broadway, 2630884, wichitaorpheum.com. g 6/25, 8pm: Thelma & Louise Friends hit the open road and get more than they bargained for. Free. The Brickyard, 129 N. Rock Island.

To have your event listed, email the details to Jessica@collegehillcommoner.com, or call 689-8474.